The window-mounted chassis, which holds three planters, is operated via pulley, as a sort of drawbridge outfitted with houseplants and herbs:"Volet Végétal"' is a project that we thought for a Parisian design contest "Jardin Jardin" as an industrial product for people who are living in apartment deprived of gardens and balcony. Users have just to plug the structure on the outside of their windows. Horizontal position to enlarge a green view on the city land by trying to go further from the facade of the building and get more ornamental stand for plant. Vertical to create a shutter of light, a filter for green air and also for an easy garden upkeeping.

If it weren't for NYC's oppressive humidity (this month in particular), the elegant system might make an immeasurable aesthetic improvement from the unsightly air conditioners that are an acne-like blight on many façades here—is this also the case in Paris?

It looks like the "Volet Végétal" might include 'feet' so that it can be removed from the window as a freestanding, tiered planter.

Barreau and Charbonnet (that really does have a nice Francophilic ring to it, doesn't it?) are currently working on bringing a production version of "Volet Végétal" to market.

The latest design news, jobs & events. Straight to you every other week.

Formerly an editor and currently a contributor to Core77 (among other publications), Ray relocated from New York City to the Netherlands in September 2015 to pursue a Master’s in Curating & Writing at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Insatiably curious, he brings a broad interest in popular culture, media, and technology — alongside an abiding passion for art, music, and cycling — to his practice as a journalist and critic.

3 Comments

funny how we explored this exact concept in a project called "zerospace" "Questionning the relation between real space and perception of space" in small type apartment 8 years ago .
This was one of the "conceptual vision"we had, we never pushed it to the next level, glad somebody is bringing this type of thinking to market.

Neat concept, but I see several problems right off the bat. First, while this might work well for small ornamental plants or several batches of wheatgrass, plants that produce any substantial amount of food also require a substantial amount of space, typically in the vertical dimension. A typical window won't provide that, at least not for anything more than a single tier of plants (also known as a window-box). Second, large plants typically have larger root bundles and/or require plenty of water--small pots like that will require nearly constant watering to keep things from drying out. Again, smaller plants would be okay, but smaller plants produce little food--growing a single tomato over the course of a summer doesn't really count as feeding yourself. Third, out away from the building, I'd have to imagine the wind is horrendous--without a healthy root bundle and/or some sort of stakes or supports, large plants would likely take a serious beating. Fourth and finally, bugs. Even decorative plants attract them, as does dirt. Bringing plants in and out of the house on a regular basis--and having to remove/unhinge/whatnot the screen out of the way to do so--seems like a good way to get your dwelling infested with all sorts of undesirables.
All of that said, I really like the idea of having light filtering through plants, with the option of moving them when it gets darker. There are ground level windows looking into my finished basement, and thanks to the previous owner, plenty of perennials growing in front of them. In the evening, when the light hits them and passes into the basement, it gives everything a beautiful greenish tint that makes me think of being outside.

Photos by Catherine O'GormanA conceptual travel book for Icelandic Air transports passengers on a sensual journey.
is actually much more than a book. In addition to its unconventional form, inspired by an Icelandic rock, it invokes the nature of Iceland through the senses. It can also be used as headphones,...

If there's one wacky extreme pastime that needs to be taken to the next level, it's Trike Drifting (also known as, um, Drift Triking). While we wait for updates on a mass-market Dolphin Jetpack, we'll settle for D3 trikes:Trike Drifters is dedicated to take Drift Triking to the next level...

I can't decide what's cooler-looking, the Nikon SLR skeletons we showed you earlier or these completely crystal Canons. An Illinois-based camera accessories manufacturer called Fotodiox has started producing and selling these 7D replicas, apparently for no reason other than that they can. They're 2/3rds the size of the real thing,...

Let's say you needed to make a perfectly circular steel ring in an enormous size, like 25 feet in diameter. What production method do you use? Bueller, anyone?You'd use what's called ring rolling, or more properly "seamless rolled ring forging." Check out the first 2.5 minutes of the video below...